Big Mistake? NFL Fans Scorch Buccaneers Coach’s Late-Game Decision as Chiefs Win Nail-Biter

Both social media and sports pundits aren’t exactly being kind to Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles after he may have whiffed on a call that cost his team a chance to beat the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs ended up winning 30-24 in overtime on “Monday Night Football” after a sodden game in Kansas City was tied up at 24 after 60 minutes.

However, Bowles had a chance to bypass overtime, many felt, by going for a 2-point conversion when the Bucs scored with just 27 seconds left in the game on a Baker Mayfield pass to tight end Ryan Miller.

Instead, he went for the tie. The Chiefs got the ball after winning the coin toss then marched down the field to score on a 2-yard Kareem Hunt run.

Patrick Mahomes was 5 for 5 on the winning drive, according to the Associated Press.

Bowles told reporters that he gave “very minor” thought to going for 2 before settling for the extra point.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s response probably tells you whether he should have given more thought to that: “I’m glad he didn’t.”

“We wanted to get it to overtime, [and] with the wet conditions on the field, we felt like we had to go to overtime instead of go for two,” Bowles told reporters, according to A-to-Z Sports.

“So we had our shots. You know, we lost the game.”

While there is an argument that this was the correct call — the Chiefs might have made more of an effort to get into range for kicker Harrison Butker down one with just 27 seconds left, instead of running down the clock and punting, say — plenty of fans were upset that Bowles didn’t decide to go for it, especially given the opposition.

Todd Bowles opts to let Patrick Mahomes have more possessions to win the game. Go for two and take it out of his hands.

— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) November 5, 2024

Todd Bowles really thought going to overtime against the best quarterback in the world was a better idea than attempting a 2 point conversion.

— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) November 5, 2024

Go for 2 you coward Todd Bowles!

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) November 5, 2024

Yeah, should have gone for 2.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 5, 2024

ESPN announcer Troy Aikman was also surprised that Bowles didn’t try to end the game right there.

“I thought the entire drive that if [the Bucs] scored they would go for two.” – Troy Aikman on the decision by Todd Bowles and Tampa Bay to kick an XP in the final minute of regulation vs the Chiefs. #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/YslmFcdVJc

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 5, 2024

“I thought the entire drive that if [the Buccaneers] scored, they would go for two,” Aikman said during the postgame.

“I’m not saying Tampa Bay should look at it and say they’re not as good as Kansas City — but, you know, when you’re on the road against the defending world champs and you’ve got them on the ropes and you’ve got a chance to win a game on one play, I think you’ve got to do that.”

The Buccaneers, who fell to 4-5 on the season with the loss, play the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers next week. The team then has a very winnable homestretch where every team but one currently has a losing record: the New York Giants, the Carolina Panthers, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Los Angeles Chargers (the only winning team left), the Dallas Cowboys, the Panthers again, and the New Orleans Saints to close out the season.

However, the loss against the Chiefs drops the team two games behind the 6-3 Atlanta Falcons for the division lead. If Bowles doesn’t end up making the playoffs — which likely involves winning the weak NFC South for the Bucs — his job could be on the line.

That two points, in other words, may have made all the difference between the playoffs and the unemployment line for the 60-year-old head coach.

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